Pancake Poppers:

I love pancakes! When I was younger, we had pancakes just about every Saturday morning, and well, we still do that I guess! Not every week, but probably at least twice a month!

During the week, things are too busy to make pancakes in the mornings, but some of us aren't huge cold cereal fans. I came across this idea, and decided to try it out. It worked great and makes for a quick and yummy breakfast! I babysit some kids that really like pancakes, and they love these!!

I let the little kids eat them warm as they are, and tear them up in pieces for the toddlers. It works great! I hope you'll give them a try too!!

4 eggs

4 cups milk

2/3 cup canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla

4 cups flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum

8 tsp. baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

Optional: Blueberries, strawberries, crumbled cooked sausage, crumbled cooked bacon pieces, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, whatever you can think of!

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy. Add milk, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Add dry ingredients and mix until well combined.

Spray a mini-muffin tin with cooking spray. Using a cookie scoop, fill muffin cups 3/4 full. If you want to add any optional ingredients, now is the time to add them. Sprinkle over the muffin cups and press gently into the batter. Bake at 435 degrees for 12-18 minutes or until very light golden brown. Let set in the pan for 3-5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges to loosen from the pan. Flip them out on a wire rack or even just the counter top and let them cool. Place on a baking sheet (preferably so they aren't touching too much) and freeze for 2-3 hours. Remove from the cookie sheet and place in a ziplock bag. Freeze until ready to use!!

To Re-Heat:

For about 6 poppers, microwave for 1 minute to re-heat! Dip in syrup!

Note:
-We prefer to use Rice Milk in our pancakes, but you can use whatever you like.
-You can, of course, use any pancake mix you want!

Orange Carrot Jello Salad:

My Grandma used to make this salad and I always loved it!!!

If you have never tired it or heard of it, it may sound weird having carrots in your Jello, but trust me, it's really good!!! It couldn't be any easier to make, and it's super yummy!

I couldn't find grandma's recipe in our recipe boxes anywhere, so I'm not sure if this is the exact recipe she used, but it tastes identical to me and reminds me so much of her, with every bite I take!

I hope you'll give it a try!!

 

 

2 (3 oz.) packages Orange Gelatin

2 cups boiling water

1 (20 oz.) can Crushed Pineapple

2 tblsp. lemon juice

Cold Water

1/4 tsp. salt, optional

1 & 1/2 cups finely shredded or grated carrots

 

In a medium bowl, gently stir gelatin and boiling water until gelatin is dissolved. Drain the pineapple, reserving the juice; set the pineapple aside. Combine lemon juice and pineapple juice. Add enough cold water to equal 2 cups. Stir in salt, if desired. Stir into gelatin mixture. Chill until slightly set (1-2 hours). Stir in pineapple and carrots. Mix well. Pour into serving bowl and chill until set. Serve!

 

 

 

 

 

 



Crispie Caramel Ice Cream Dessert:

It's really nice to have a fabulous and even impressive dessert that takes little to no time to make and even better if it has very few ingredients! Well, believe it or not, this dessert is all that and more!!

It's so easy, takes 5 ingredients and is SO good!!! It's going to be fabulous for the summer, but I first tried it in the winter and it was fabulous then too, so don't limit yourself to just the summer!

I hope you give it a try!!!

 

3/4 cup (12 tblsp.) Butter, softened

1 & 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 & 3/4 cups Rice Crispie cereal

1/2 gallon (8 cups) vanilla ice cream, softened enough to spread easily

Caramel Ice Cream Topping

Directions for a 9x13 baking dish:

In a medium bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar and cereal. I used a spatula for this, and my butter was just about melted, so it worked fine. Mix until well combined. You don't want any big chunks of butter or sugar. Press 2/3 of this mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Place in the freezer and let it stand until your ice cream is really soft. When it's soft enough, spread it gently and evenly over the crust. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 of the cereal mixture. Cover and freeze until firm (preferably over night). Allow to stand for about 10 minutes and then cut it to serve. Drizzle with caramel ice-cream topping before serving!

Enjoy!!

Directions for cupcakes:
The same as above, except line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Divide 2/3 of the rice crispy mixture evenly between 20 cupcake liners. Using the back of a spoon, firmly press the mixture down in each cup. Allow to freeze while your ice cream softens. Divide the ice cream evenly between all the cupcakes (you might have a little leftover). Sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup rice crispy mixture. Freeze until firm. Remove from muffin tins and place in an airtight container. Store in the freezer! Drizzle with caramel ice-cream topping before serving!

 

Note:
-I've made both the pan version and the cupcake version. Both are equally delicious!

-You can do the crust after your ice cream is already softened, but I found that the crust won't break up, if it's really good and cold, so I like to let it freeze for the entire time it takes the ice cream to soften.

-You can actually use any ice cream topping you want. I'm not a huge caramel fan, but I LOVED it on this! I think it just blends really well with the brown sugar flavor in the crust.

-This is a great make-ahead dessert! As long as it's sealed really tight, it lasts really well in the freezer!
 

 

 

Macaroni Salad:

 

My mom was, well actually still is, famous for her macaroni salad! And my little brother (who is now bigger than me) used to live off of it! My grandfather was in the hospital for 9 weeks when Kaleb was 2. We stayed at a lot of different people's houses during that time, since mom was usually at the hospital, and it was a long 9 weeks for us. It happened all of the sudden, and they wouldn't let us in the hospital to see Pappy, and it seemed like we were tossed back and forth from one family to another. For being so young, Kaleb did pretty good, though, as long as we brought plenty of macaroni salad for him! That was 14 years ago, and he can't stand it now!! But the rest of us still enjoy it! It's one of those things that didn't really have a recipe, so it took several tries before I could really get exact measurements! I think I have it now, though, and I hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as we do! And as much as Kaleb used to!!!

 

 

4 cups uncooked macaroni noodles (about a 16 oz. pkg.)
10 hard-boiled eggs

1 small onion

4 stalks celery
2 cups mayonnaise (we use miracle whip)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

 

Cook the noodles according to the package directions, just until done. Drain and set aside to cool. Use an egg slicer, and slice the eggs; add to the noodles. Place onions and celery in a food processor, and finely chop; add to noodles and eggs. In a small bowl, combine mayo, sugar, salt and pepper. Stir into noodles until evenly coated. Serve or chill until ready to serve!

Note:
-If you are making this the day before you need it, then you will probably need to add more dressing before you serve it, as the noodles soak up a good bit of what you put on earlier.
-This makes a HUGE amount!! If I was making this for my family for a single meal, I would probably only make a fourth of this! (although you have to take into account, I also only cook 4 chicken breasts for my entire family as well! What's wrong with us?)

Lots of Layers Green Salad:

A lady at our church (Mrs. Helmick) has brought a 7-layer-salad to a few potlucks, and we always LOVE when she does! It's so, so good! We had never tried a recipe for it before and Mrs. Helmick doesn't really have a recipe, so when I saw this salad, I knew we had to make it!

It turned out amazing and we absolutely loved it!! It was super easy and goes together very fast! It makes a lot, so it's perfect for a big party or get-together!

Don't be afraid of the peas or the dressing!!! It all goes together so well, and totally makes the salad!

Please excuse the pictures! The dish I put it in, was a little dark, so you can't see the layers quite as well! But trust me, it's super yummy, and I hope you give it a try!!

 

1 & 1/2 hearts romaine lettuce, chopped

2 cups baby spinach

Salt and pepper, to taste

10 whole hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 (12 ounce) package bacon, cooked and chopped

4 tomatoes, chopped (1 carton cherry tomatoes)

1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 (10 ounce) bag frozen peas

 

1/2 cup real mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

2 Tablespoons sugar

 

In a large glass bowl, layer salad ingredients in order listed above.  Combine dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk together until combined.  Pour over the top of the peas and spread to cover.  Cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.

Note:
-This looks SO, SO pretty in a big, clear punch bowl or trifle bowl, but it makes it hard to get all of the layers! That's why I like to put it in a 9x13 pan, or some other big, shallow dish. You can do whatever you want, though, and it will still be great!
-My family doesn't really care for Iceberg lettuce at all, but if you like it, you can use 1 head of Iceberg instead of romaine if you prefer.
-I LOVE onions (a lot), but not a lot of people do, so sometimes I leave the onions out and just serve them separately for anyone that wants them!
-Tomatoes are the same way as the onions; I love them, but only a couple other people in my family like them as well. It makes the salad look so pretty, though, I hate to leave them out! So, I prefer to use cherry tomatoes, that way if anyone doesn't like them, they can pick them out easily!!   

 

Cheesy Rice Bake:

We had a TON of leftover, cooked rice the other day, and I knew we would never eat it all before it went bad. I was trying to figure out what to do with it, and there is surprisingly few recipes out there that use cooked rice! Lots that use uncooked rice, but that wasn't going to help me out!

I stumbled across a recipe similar to this one, and decided to try it. I figured my family wouldn't love it, but they would eat it, and at least we wouldn't have to throw out a ton of rice.

I threw it altogether and stuck it in the oven.

Would you believe that my family loved this stuff?!?!!!

I couldn't believe it! It really tasted surprisingly yummy!! We ate almost the entire pan in one meal! I'll definitely be making this again and I hope you'll try it out as well!

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. dried parsley

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 cup shredded Velveeta cheese (see note)

4 cups cooked rice (see note)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley and pepper. Stir in the Velveeta cheese and rice. Mix until well combined.

Pour into a greased, casserole dish.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bake 10 minutes longer.

Serve!

Note:

-The original recipe called for cheddar cheese, not Velveeta cheese, but I don't like the grainy texture that pre-shredded cheddar cheese gives, so I highly recommend the Velveeta. Make sure it is good and cold, and it should shred fairly easily. I did use the cheddar for on top, because I think it works fine like that, but you can do whatever you want.

-My cooked rice was minute rice, but I don't think it would really matter at all what kind you use, as long as it's cooked!

-You don't need a huge casserole dish, but make sure it's big enough, so that your rice mixture does not come to the top of the pan. It bubbles a little while it's baking, and if your dish is too full, it may boil over!

{Happy Easter 2014}

 

"...And, behold, there was a great earthquake:

for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven,

and came and rolled back the stone from the door,

and sat upon it.

His countenance was like lightning,

and his raiment white as snow:

And for fear of him the keepers did shake,

and became as dead men.

And the angel answered and said...Fear not ye:

for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

He is not here: for he is risen, as he said..."

Matthew 28: 2-6


Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!!!

Sweet Potato & Apple Gratin:

 I think I've said it before, but I'm not a huge fan of sweet potatoes. They are like white chocolate to me. I love the idea of them, and so I just keep trying them, thinking that I might eventually like them! Well, it hasn't happened with white chocolate yet, but it worked with this sweet potato dish at least! It was very different from anything I've ever had, and I really did like it! I fixed it for Valentines Day, and my whole family really liked it!
Hope you give it a try!

 

 

 

 

3 tblsp. butter, divided

1 small onion, finely diced

3 tblsp. cornstarch

2 cups chicken broth

dash of salt and pepper

2 & 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled (about 4 medium)

2 gala or golden delicious apples, peeled, quartered and cored

1 cup gingersnap cookie crumbs (click HERE for my recipe)

 

In a medium sauce pan, melt 2 tblsp. butter. Add onion; cook and stir for 6-7 minutes or until golden brown. Whisk in cornstarch, salt and pepper. Gradually pour in broth and whisk until smooth. Simmer until it reaches a boil and thickens slightly. Set aside.

Using and food processor with a slicing blade, or a mandolin slicer, thinly slice the potatoes and apples. In a greased baking dish, layer half of the potatoes and all of the apples. Top with half of the onion sauce. Layer with the rest of the potatoes and finish with the remaining sauce.

Cover tightly with foil, and bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender with poked with a fork. In a small bowl, melt the remaining 1 tblsp. butter. Add cookie crumbs and mix until well combined. Sprinkle over potatoes and bake for 25 minutes more.

Serve!!

 

Note:

-The original recipe said that you could bake it the first time, let it cool and keep it in your fridge for a day or two. Set it out for an hour, top with cookie crumbs and bake until warm through. I did not try this, so I don't know how well it does or doesn't work, but I just wanted to let you know, incase anyone wants to try it!

-We served it with Ham, but I'm sure any Meat main dish would go well.

-The original recipe I think said it served 6-8, but I will half the recipe the next time I make it for my family! It really makes a lot!!

 

 

 

 

 

Cracker Jacks:

My mom used to make this for special occasions and it was the second thing she taught me and my sister how to make! It always reminds me of Thanksgiving at grandma's house! I hate to brag, but I feel like you need to know, it tastes 10 times better than what you buy in that box at the store! I honestly didn't know those even existed until a several years ago. I tried some, and after one bite, I knew why! Now, I'm not talking about Caramel Corn like you get in the tins at Christmas time! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE all three flavors in those tins!!

But still, this recipe is so good, and really so easy!

I actually thought I already had it on the blog, but I went to make some for a movie night with some friends last week, and I realized I hadn't posted it!

I hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as we do!

 

 

2 cups brown sugar

2 sticks butter

1/2 cup corn syrup

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

6 quarts popped, popcorn

 

Place popcorn in a very large bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring sugar, butter and corn syrup to a boil; boil and stir (with a whisk is best) for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla (see note).

Pour the sauce over the popcorn, and gently stir until evenly coated.

Pour into a large, greased pan (see note).

Bake at 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Flip out onto a counter top or table top and spread out evenly to cool, breaking larger chunks into smaller ones.

Let cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

 

Note:

-Be careful when you stir in the baking soda and vanilla, because it will bubble up! It scares me every time!  

-A foil pan works fabulous for this!

-If we make a bunch of this, which we normally do, we like to store it in one of those popcorn tins!

 

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes:

 I love just about anything Lemon!
Okay, really I love just about anything food, but lemon is definitely my favorite flavor! At the moment!!!!
Anyways, Lemon Meringue Pie is my favorite lemon dessert, but it does take a while to make!
These cupcakes don't take the place of a real lemon meringue pie, but it definitely helps! The cake is so soft and fluffy, and they were surprisingly easy to make! If you've never made meringue before, don't worry! It's super easy!!
If you're a lemon lover, I hope you give this recipe a try!

 

 

Cake:

6 tblsp. butter, room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup plain yogurt

3 tblsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. lemon extract

1 & 1/3 cups flour

1 tsp. xanthan gum

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

 

Meringue:

2 egg whites

1/3 cup sugar

 

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add yogurt, lemon juice and lemon extract. Mix well. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, xanthan gum, baking powder and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture and mix until combined. Fill paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full (I use an ice cream scoop). Bake at 350 degrees for 17-19 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

 

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat egg whites on high until soft peaks form (this is where, using the back of a spoon, you can pull up on the meringue, and a peak forms and then gently falls). Gradually add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high until sugar is dissolved and stiff, glossy peaks form (this is where, using the back of a spoon, you can pull up on the meringue and a peak forms and holds it's shape and the meringue is glossy). Spread onto the tops of the cupcakes. Return to the oven and bake 6-8 minutes longer, or until meringue is slightly golden brown. Remove to wire rack to cool slightly before serving!

 

Note:

-This is NOT a make ahead recipe. The cake and meringue are the very best when they are still slightly warm or at least room temperature.